WI: Washington dies before the Constitution is ratified

When the US Constitution was drafted/ratified, it was generally assumed that Washington would become the first president (in fact, if it wasn't for him, Article Two of the Constitution would be completely different), so what if, shortly before or after the Constitution is ratified, Washington dies or is otherwise rendered incapable to run for president?

Would the electors unify behind another respected, uncontroversial figure? Benjamin Franklin is the most common answer in this scenario, but he was eighty-two at the time and would die IOTL only two years later, so in the off chance that he actually became president, the real question is who would be selected as his VP. Or would the election be competitive? The Federalists and Anti-Federalists weren't particularly organized at this time, but the former could easily rally behind John Adams, John Jay, Alexander Hamilton, or some other person and the latter behind Clinton or Jefferson. In this case, I assume the Federalists would have the upper hand. Or would there be an entirely different scenario?
 
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Depends on what point he dies. Is there already a wave towards 9 states and implementation? Or do Anti-Federalists convince five or more states to reject or at least slow down ratification because of the uncertainty over who would be president?
 

Anaxagoras

Banned
Interestingly, Washington actually was nearly killed on the way back to Mount Vernon from Philadelphia in the fall of 1787 when a bridge he was crossing collapsed. IIRC, his horse fell through and was killed, but he had dismounted for some reason a few minutes before. An interesting POD, if you ask me.

Yet another example of George Washington's countless close brushes with death.
 
Depends on what point he dies. Is there already a wave towards 9 states and implementation? Or do Anti-Federalists convince five or more states to reject or at least slow down ratification because of the uncertainty over who would be president?
It would be after the ratification became near-certain. I'm mainly trying to figure out alternative first presidents, and since the position was made specifically for Washington, I figured that this would be the most likely POD.
 
Related idea -- what if President Washington had died from one his bouts of illness in 1789 or 1790? (since the former was before North Carolina or Rhode Island ratified, it should be relevant here)
 
Related idea -- what if President Washington had died from one his bouts of illness in 1789 or 1790? (since the former was before North Carolina or Rhode Island ratified, it should be relevant here)
As long as President Adams doesn't try to stop the Bill of Rights from getting through, it probably wouldn't affect North Carolina or Rhode Island's entry into the Union. While Washington was a unifying figure, Adams would exacerbate partisan divisions, but I'm not sure what the specific consequences would be.

Also, I've started thinking about this scenario more in general since I might end up doing a TL on it, and this is what I'm currently considering: Benjamin Franklin reluctantly accepts the Presidency on the understanding that it would be a mostly non-partisan office. The vice presidential vote is more scattered, but most electoral votes go towards Henry Lee III (Revolutionary War officer, Federalist politician from Virginia, and father of Robert E. Lee) both for regional balance and to invoke the legacy of Washington. Franklin dies, and Lee becomes the second president in 1790. Any general thoughts on how plausible/interesting the scenario is? I'm a bit unsure about Lee for the vice presidency, but he seems better suited for the role than anyone else I can find.
 
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